Ahmad Zahir

A celebrity of enduring popularity almost three decades after his death, Ahmad Zahir is considered as a legend and an icon of Afghan music. Born on June 14, 1946 in Kabul, Afghanistan, he was the son of late Dr. Abdul Zahir (born 1910, in Laghman), who was an influential Afghan politician and a one time Afghan Prime Minister (1971-1972) during the reign of King Zahir Shah. Ahmad Zahir attended Habibia High School in the early 1960s and his interest in music developed during this period where he often sang in his school concerts, accompanied by his band that was made up of mainly his friends and classmates: Nabil Miskinyar on drums, Omar Sultan on guitar, Farid Zaland on congas and Kabir Howaida on piano, as well as other talented musicians who would accompany him from time to time. He himself would mainly play the accordion as he sang. In one particular concert, during his school days, he sang so beautifully that his schoolmates declared him “Bulbul-e Habibia”. The band, which later became known as the Amateur Band of Habibia High School, gained popularity with their performances in local concerts during celebratory occasions such as Nouroz, Eid, and Afghan Independence Day.